Population

Population

Oryctolagus cuniculus decline has escalated in recent years. In Spain the rabbit has declined to 20% of the population size from 1975 (Virgos et al. 2005). As of 2005, rabbit populations in the Iberian peninsula have declined to as little as 5% of the number from 1950, based on the decrease in Donana National Park, a protected area (Delibes et al. 2000). Density of rabbits has been recorded at a maximum of 40 per hectare in prime habitat, though the abundance has declined significantly since the arrival of new threats in the mid 20th century (Angulo 2004).

In Portugal, a population reduction of 24% was recorded between 1995 and 2002 (Alves and Ferreira 2002).

Decline has been uneven across the range, due to varying degrees of threat (Ward 2005).